A second chance
by Sincerely The Sign Painter
Summary: Ed dies and is given a second chance at life. The catch? He's now a cat.
1. Chapter 1

**Al's POV**

.

This wasn't supposed to happen.

"Ed, wake up!"

We were going to find a way to get our bodies back together.

"Please brother!"

It was just one gunshot.

"You can't die, Ed! Wake up!"

It was just a random criminal. Some random guy who escaped from prison.

"Someone help! Please! Someone!"

We didn't see it. We thought there were only three of them. I should have noticed the fourth one.

"Someone! Ed needs help!" I cried out.

"What happened?" I heard Roy yell as he came running over. "Is Fullmetal alright?"

"He's hurt!" I yelled. Roy came over and knelt down next to me. He put his hand over Ed's heart. His eyes widened and he withdrew his hand.

"Al," Roy muttered.

"Hurry! We need to get him to a hospital!"

"Al," Roy said softly, "He's dead."

"What? No! Ed's going to be alright!" I yelled. "We need to get help now!"

"He's dead," Roy repeated.

"No," I said shaking my head forcefully, "There's still time. We can save him!" I put my hand over my brother's heart. Nothing.

"Al, he's gone." The fire alchemist stood up.

"No," I sobbed, "No! No! Brother, open your eyes! There has to be something we can do!"

"I'm sorry," Roy said.

"No!" I screamed. "No, this can't be! Brother, please come back. Brother!"

.

That was it. There was nothing I could have done. Three criminals caught. My brother's laugh, followed by a gunshot. A frozen smile as he fell. By the time I got to him, he was gone. Gone forever.

.

**A few days later...**

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I walked lifelessly down the street. All I had been doing was wandering around the Central. At first, I locked myself in my room, however the room reminded me to much of brother I couldn't stand it. I didn't need to think when I was walking. All I need to do is move one foot in front of another until I drop dead. That however would never happen. Not when I was stuck in this body.

"Tomorrow," I thought mournfully, "tomorrow is the funeral. My brother's funeral." I wanted so badly for tomorrow not to come. If I had to see my brother's body again, I felt like I would die. I took another step forward and stepped on something. I stopped and looked down. Under my foot was a little gray kitten. It was lying in a puddle and looked half dead. I sighed and scooped it up. The kitten gave a small meow and shivered.

"I'll bring you back home," I said softly to it. "Maybe you can keep my mind off things for a while." I turned and started back towards where I live.

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**Meanwhile…**

**Ed's POV**

.

"What am I doing here?" I asked looking around. I was once again in front of the gate of Truth.

"Isn't that obvious?" Truth asked grinning, "You're dead."

"What?!" I yelled, "That can't be right! I was catching some criminals! When did this…" Suddenly I remembered. A gunshot. Pain. Blackness.

"No," I whispered, "No, no, this can't be right! I promised Al! I promised to get his body back!"

"Do you want another chance?" Truth asked innocently.

"Another chance?" I said suspiciously, "What do you mean?"

"I can send you back." Truth said.

"What's the price?" I asked.

"Oh you'll learn that later." Truth said. "But don't you want to go back? You did promise your brother. How are you going to help him if you're dead?" I bit my lip and thought for a moment.

"Fine," I said. "I'll do it." Truth laughed and the gate opened. I was pulled thought and found myself falling to the ground. I landed and automatically noticed something was wrong. The world looked weird. I couldn't tell where I was or why the world looked so big. I took a step forward and then noticed I was walking on all four.

"What the?!" I exclaimed. "What's going on?!" I ran to a puddle and looked into it. A small golden kitty looked back at me.

"Truth!" I yelled, "This isn't funny!" There was no answer, of course.

"I can't believe this," I fumed as I stormed across the street. "Why am I a cat? What am I supposed to do? I better go find Al. The world looks so different down here. I can't tell where I am. If I wander a little, I bet I can find him."

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**Days later…**

.

"So hungry." I groaned as I dragged myself down the street. My fur was covered in mud and had turned a sickly grey color. I was so thin that I could slip through any crack. I hadn't had any food to eat for a while.

"Where am I?" I thought. "How big is this place? Where's Al?" I took another step forward and fell to the ground. I struggled to get up but I had no strength left.

"Why did you give me a second chance?" I thought as I closed my eyes, "I'm only going to die again. What was the point?" Suddenly I felt something big step on me. I groaned hoping that whatever it was it wouldn't eat me. Then I felt something scoop me up.

"Hey!" I meowed weakly shivering.

"I'll bring you back home," a familiar voice said softly. "Maybe you can keep my mind off things for a while." I opened my eyes and look over to see my brother.

"Al! I found you!" I thought happily and then passed out.

.

**Please review **


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi! Here's the next chapter. First I would like to thank the two people who reviewed. You guys really are awesome. Second I'd like to thank my beta reader lexie loves anime. **

**Ok on to the story!**

**.**

**Al's POV**

.

By the time I got to my room it was raining out. The first thing I did was to find some food for the kitten. I had hidden a few bags of kitten food in the room in case my brother ever let me keep one.

_"No, don't think of Ed!"_ I thought, _"Just concentrate on the kitten."_ As I poured the food, the kitten's ears perked up. He dragged himself on his feet and stumbled over to the bowl of food.

"There," I said watching him eat. "Have as much as you want." The kitten finished the food and looked at me. I poured more food. The kitten stuck his head in the bowl and started practically inhaling the food.

"Slow down!" I exclaimed as the kitten finished his food. It sat back and looked up at me again.

"Oh no," I said. "I can't give you any more. It'll make you sick."

"Meow!" The kitten pleaded pitifully.

"Fine, a little bit more." I said giving him some more. "But that's it! I'll get you some fresh water." I walked out of the room and went to the bathroom to fill up the container of water. When I came back I found the kitten waiting for me expectantly. I gave him the water and he drank it up quickly.

"What should I name you?" I asked as I gently pet him. "Hmm, since I found you in the rain I'll call you Stormy." As I pet him I noticed how muddy he was.

"Oh hold on, I'll wash you off. I picked him up and snuck him to the bathroom. I filled the sink full of warm water and put the kitten in. Stormy started to purr.

"Well that's unexpected," I chuckled. "I didn't think cats liked water." The kitten ignored me and shifted around in the water to be more comfortable. I gave a little laugh and finished washing him. After I was done I quickly pulled him out and dried him off before he could get cold.

"There we go!" I said, bringing him back to the room and putting him on the bed. Now that the mud was gone, Stormy's fur was a gold color.

"You were really muddy!" I said. The kitten stared up at me with big gold eyes. Suddenly I was reminded of Ed. The memories that I was trying to suppress started coming back to me. I gave a weak sob and sunk down on the bed.

"Meow?" Stormy asked putting his paws on my leg and looking up at me.

"Oh Stormy," I cried picking up the kitten and hugging it. "Why did he have to die? Why didn't I notice? Why? Why?! It's all my fault." I sat there sobbing hugging Stormy to my chest. If I could cry, Stormy would be soaking wet with my tears.

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**Ed's POV**

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Al was crying. There had to be something I could do to make him feel better. I wish I could tell him that I was Ed but he didn't seem to understand me.

"Why did he die?" my brother asked again still shaking with sadness. He squeezed me tighter.

"Al, you have to let me go!" I meowed desperately. I wanted to help him but right now I couldn't breathe. Al looked down at me and let me go.

"I'm sorry!" he sobbed, "I almost killed you." I walked over to him and rubbed my head against his armor.

"It's ok, Al," I purred. Al put down his hand and petted me softly.

"What am I going to do with you?" Al asked quietly as he pet me, "I can't keep you. Truthfully I don't know what I'm going to do with my life. I don't know how much longer I can live without my brother." My eyes widened in shock.

"Don't you dare talk like that!" I hissed. Al pulled his hand away from me.

"I'm sorry, was I petting you to hard?" he asked sadly. I sighed and walked into his lap. I tucked my tail in and curled into a ball.

"You are very forgiving," Al said. "Most cats don't go near someone who squeezed them half to death." I gave a loud purr and snuggled down for a nap. Al started petting me softly.

"What am I going to do?" he asked me. I gave a little grunt but was too tired to answer. Not that he'd understand me anyways. I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.

**…**

"Al, it's time to go," I heard Winry's voice say. "Come on! Just move the kitten."

"I can't! He's sleeping so peacefully!" Al's voice said softly.

"Stop making excuses," Winry sighed. "I know you don't want to go to Ed's funeral. I don't want to go either."

"My what!?" I meowed picking my head up.

"See, he's awake!" Winry said, "Now you can move him."

"But I don't want to leave him alone!" Al said hugging me. I gave a squeak and struggled to get free.

"Al, you're going to kill him!" she cried. Al gasped and let me go. I dropped to the floor and shook myself out.

"Hey, don't drop me!" I meowed insulted. "Now my feet hurt!" The two of them looked down at me. I felt small and pathetic. To cover up how I felt I quickly started calmly licking my paw.

"Hey Winry, can I bring Stormy?" Al ask timidly.

"Stormy? Oh you mean the kitten," she stated. "If it helps you then bring him. Besides, I bet Ed would be happy to see that you found such a sweet kitten." She choked a little at the end. I looked up at them.

"Don't cry!" I purred. "Winry, you promised you wouldn't cry!" I rubbed against her legs trying to make her feel better. She bent over and pet me.

"You know, he kind of looks like Ed," she muttered. "I bet Ed would be insulted that Stormy had the same eyes as him."

"Yeah," Al said dully.

"We should feed him breakfast before we leave," Winry said, trying to change the subject. "I can go downstairs and get a bowl of warm milk.

"Warm milk," I meowed angrily. "There's no way I'm going to drink that!"

"It sounds like he wants some," Al pet me.

"No! I don't want milk! Especially warm milk. That's just gross!" I meowed desperately.

"Calm down, I'll get it now!" Winry said, walking out of the room. "You don't need to get excited."

"Who said I was excited?" I demanded.

"You are so cute!" Al said while petting me again.

"Don't worry, Al. I'll get your body back and then I'm going to kill Truth," I informed him.

"You're a very vocal cat," Al noted. "You meow a lot." I sighed in frustration and gave up trying to convey a message.

"Here we go!" Winry said, coming back with a bowl of warm milk. She put it down and pushed it towards me.

"So we meet again," I hissed. "My archenemy, how long have you tortured me? Well, now you have lost! I won't drink you." I arched my back and gave a loud growl.

"Calm down!" Winry exclaimed. "What's wrong with you?" I hissed once more at the milk then I turned and arrogantly padded away under the bed, my tail in the air.

"Okay, I guess he doesn't like it," Al sweatdropped.

"Ed would get along well with this cat," Winry said quietly.

"Yeah," Al said, giving a sad chuckle. "He would probably just let me keep him because he hates milk." Al put a bowl of cat food on the ground.

"Eat up, little guy. We have to leave soon." My eye twitched

"Little guy?" I hissed. "WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SMALL THAT YOU COULD PICK UP WITH ONE HAND AND PUT IN A SINK INSTEAD OF A TUB BECAUSE YOU THINK I'M A TINY BALL OF FLUFF?!" I launched myself forward at Al's foot when suddenly something hit me. I was that small. I stopped and slowly sunk to the floor giving out a pitiful meow as I did.

"Winry, I think he's sick!" Al said shocked. "I should stay with him until he feels better."

"Nice try, Al," Winry sighed. "If you want to take care of him you can hide him in your armor. Put his food in there too. We need to leave now before we're late." Al sighed and then scooped me up.

"Alright," he said quietly, "Let's go."

.

**Please review. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi again! Thanks for all the reviews. They really helped me to continue writing. Anyways special thanks to my beta who is awesome.**

**One more thing. If anyone has any ideas, or thoughts for the story feel free to comment. Although I might not put them in I do take what people say in review and use them in my stories. **

**Ok on to the story!**

**.**

**Ed's POV**

.

"I can't stand this any longer!" I thought desperately, looking around. "This is just so depressing."

We were at my funeral and it was awful. Everyone I knew was there. The atmosphere of the place was so depressing that I just wanted to scream that I wasn't dead. Because I was a state Alchemist, they decided to bury me at Central. Winry and Al protested but they were ignored, and this didn't help Al's mood at all.

As the funeral went on, he became more and more depressed. It seemed like he was slowly dying. I could feel his sorrow even if he didn't show it. My cat sense picked up his emotions better than human sense. As they began to bury my body, Al started shaking. He slowly slid down and sat in front of the grave stone.

"Al," I meowed softly. "It's okay, I'm here. Don't cry." Al didn't move. I sighed and slid down into his lap. After a little while, people started heading back until only Al, Winry and I was left. Soon, the sun started to set.

"Al, we should head back," Winry finally said. I looked over to her. She had tears streaming down her cheeks. I felt my heart ache. I walked over and rubbed against her legs. She bent over and pet me.

"I'm not going," Al said dully. "I don't want to leave brother."

"Al, you have to go," she said softly, standing up. "You can't stay here forever."

"Why not?" he demanded. "I don't need to eat or sleep. I could stay here forever."

"Al, don't do this!" Winry sobbed, "I can't lose you too!"

"Al, don't you dare!" I meowed loudly, running over to Al and putting my paws on his leg. They both looked down at me.

"Also, you can't leave Stormy alone!" Winry said. "You took him in and now you have to take care of him." Al looked down at me. I looked back at him and sneezed.

"He looks like he's cold," he said softly, "You should bring him back to your room."

"What about you?" she asked.

"I'll go back later," Al muttered. Winry didn't budge. "Look, I promise I'll come back. Brother wouldn't want me to stay here and sulk."

"You're right about that!" I hissed.

"Alright then," Winry said, picking me up. I gave a startled meow and started struggling.

"No, wait! I'm not going back now!" I meowed pitifully, "I'm staying here with Al. Winry, let go!" I finally got out of her arms and ran over to Al.

"I think he wants to stay with you," Winry said.

"Fine," Al said. Winry sighed and started walked away. I sat down next to Al. We stayed in silence for a while.

"Hey, brother," Al finally said to the gravestone. "Look what I found. It's a cat. I named him Stormy. I know you don't let me keep cats, but he's special. I think you two would get along well. Brother, I don't know what to do. I miss you so much," Al started shaking with silent sobs. I walked over to him and rubbed my head against his leg comfortingly. He put his hand down and started petting me.

"Al, stop crying!" I meowed discreetly. I wanted to do something, anything to let my brother know I was here. Suddenly I had an idea.

"I'll write him a message!" I thought. "I'll tell him that I'm here!" I quickly jumped up and walked over to some loose dirt.

"Ok, what to write…" I thought as I looked at the dirt. "I know! 'I am Ed.' That should get my brother's attention." I put my paw in the dirt and paused.

"How do I write again?" I thought frowning. My eyes widened and I ran back to my grave stone. I looked at it for a while before realizing I had no idea what it said.

"Why can't I read or write?!" I meowed loudly. In my head, I could hear Truth laughing.

"Did you think it would be that easy?" he seemed to say.

"Truth!" I hissed. "You're going to pay for this!"

"Are you okay?" Al asked worriedly, scooping me up. "Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm not," I meowed while shaking my head.

"Did you just answer me?" Al asked shocked. I looked at him.

"Do you understand me?" I asked. Al just kept looking at me expectantly. Suddenly, it dawned on me. I nodded my head again.

"Does that mean you understand what I'm saying?" he asked. I nodded again.

"This is weird," Al muttered, "Alright, can you go back to Winry, please? I don't know how long I'm going to stay out here." I shook my head.

"Why not?" Al asked. Then he realized I couldn't answer that. He sighed and turned back to the grace stone.

"Fine, stay. But you have to go back at some point," he muttered. I sighed and sat down again. If that was any other time, Al would be fascinated with a cat that could understand him. But at the time, he obviously didn't care.

**…****.**

"So cold," I shivered. I doubt it was a freezing night, but with my light fur coat and small body I felt cold. I gave a miserable sneeze and continued to shiver.

"You should go back now, Al said. I shook my head before realizing that he couldn't see me in the dark.

"I can't go back!" I meowed. He sighed.

"One meow means yes and two means no. Got it?" he said. I mewed once. "Okay, please go back. It's too cold out here for you." I mewed twice.

"Why not?" he said, sounding angry. "Why are you being so stubborn?" He stopped suddenly and gave a sob.

"Are you okay?" I purred. He didn't respond. I sighed. I was really tired of this stupid game.

"You remind me a lot of my brother," he said quietly. I mewed once

"Are you agreeing with me?" he asked sarcastically. "You've never met my brother." I mewed twice.

"You disagree? Does that mean you have met my brother?" he asked surprised. I mewed once, happy that this was getting somewhere.

"Where? When? Wait, you can't answer that can you. Okay, let me think." I sneezed again. "Oh right, you are cold," he said. "I should bring you back to the room since you're too stubborn to go on your own." He turned to the grave stone. "Hey, brother, I'm going to go back with Stormy but I'll visit later, okay?" He stood up and carried me back to his room. Once we were inside, I jumped on the bed and curled up.

"Okay, now it's answer time," Al said. "I need to know how you know my brother and how you can understand me. Let's see... Have you been to laboratory 5?" I nodded.

"Is that where you learned to understand people?" I shook my head.

"Are you a chimera?" I shook my head.

"Do you know who made you like this?" I nodded

"Was it a human?" I shook my head.

"Was it a homunculus? I shook my head again. Al sighed, frustrated.

"How am I going to tell you who I am?" I mewed. "If I could spell I would write you... Hey, maybe I can still do alchemy!" I clapped my paws together and put them on the ground. Nothing.

"Well it was worth a shot," I meowed sadly.

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**Al's POV**

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"If it wasn't a human and it wasn't a homunculus, then who or what did this?" I thought frustrated. Stormy meowed and jumped up. I watched as he clapped his paws together and put them on the ground. After a few seconds, he meowed sadly and flopped back down on the bed.

"Were you trying to do alchemy?" I asked amused. Stormy nodded his head. "Did you get that from watching my brother?" Stormy looked thoughtful for a second then he flopped down and stuck his tongue out, pretending to be dead.

"Yeah, I know my brother's dead," I said coldly, "You don't need to rub it in." Stormy started madly shaking his head.

"What do you mean 'no?'" I asked confused. "What are you trying to say? Are you suggesting my brother's alive?" Stormy started nodding. It took me a few seconds for the information to sink in. Ed, my brother, is alive. Stormy saw Ed alive. I stood up quickly and scooped up Stormy. I needed to tell someone. We needed to find him!

"Stormy," I said as I stared running out of the room. "You need to help me find my brother, okay?" Stormy shot me a look and sighed before nodding his head.

**.**

**Please review. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Here's the next chapter! Thank you all who reviewed. You guys are awesome. Also thanks to my beta who is also awesome.**

**On to the story!**

**.**

**Winry's POV**

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I was having a bad dream.

_I was standing alone in front of my house. In the distance I saw someone walking down the path._

_"Ed!" I called waving. He looked up and smirked, waving back. I laughed and started running towards him. As I got closer, his smile started to fade and he started to get paler. When I reached him, I was at the burial, looking down at his dead body._

_"Ed!" I called crying as thunder boomed overhead._

_"Winry!" Al called as the thunder continued. "Winry, come on!"_

I sat up in bed, gasping for breath as tears were streaming down my cheeks.

"Winry, open up!" Al yelled, pounding on my door. "Come on!" I groggy got up and went to the door. When I opened it, Al rushed in excitedly.

"What's going on?" I asked sleepily. He reached into his armor and pulled out a disheveled looking Stormy.

"Ed's alive!" he yelled shaking the poor cat up and down in excitement, "Stormy just told me!"

"What?" I asked confused, "Al, what are you talking about? It's a cat. It can't talk." Al ignored me and plopped Stormy on the bed and then dragged me over to him.

"He can't talk, but he can understand us!" Al exclaimed. "Ask him something!" I sighed, too tired to argue with my crazy friend, and turned to the cat.

"Okay Stormy, um, I don't know, what's your favorite color?" I asked tiredly. Stormy looked at me for a few moments, then started licking his paw.

"No, you have to ask him a yes or no question," Al informed me.

"Al, I'm tired," I complained, "Can't this wait until morning?"

"Please, Winry!" Al begged.

"Alright, um, can you understand me?" I asked. Stormy looked up at me and nodded.

"No way!" I muttered, "He can understand us! Okay, let me think, um, do all cats understand human language?" Stormy shook his head.

"See, I told you!" Al laughed, "Ask him about Ed."

"Ok," I said feeling more awake now. "Is Ed alive?" Stormy nodded. I gasped.

"Are you sure?" I whispered. Stormy nodded again. "Do you know where he is?" Stormy nodded.

"Really?! Where?!" Al yelled, picking up Stormy and brought him close to his face. Stormy gave a pitiful meow and shot me a desperate look.

"He can't answer that," I said excitedly. "Put him down so we can question him." Al put the cat down and Stormy shot me a grateful look.

"Ok," Al said, "Is my brother in Central?" Stormy nodded.

"He is?" I exclaimed, "Why hasn't he come back then? Is he in trouble? Did someone capture him?" Stormy shook his head.

"Does he want to come back?" Al asked. Stormy nodded.

"Then why doesn't he?" I asked frowning. "We are so worried about him." Stormy shot me a look and gave a huge yawn. The poor cat looked utterly exhausted.

"Oh," Al said disappointed, "I guess he's tired."

"Yeah," I yawned. "We really shouldn't push him. He might refuse to tell us anything if we do."

"Oh," Al sighed. "And we were getting somewhere too! Are you sure we can't continue a little longer?" We heard a loud snore come from the cat.

"I'm guessing that's a no," I said looking down at the sleeping cat. Al's shoulder slumped, then he bent over and picked up Stormy.

"I guess I'll go back to my room," he said gloomily. "I'll meet you tomorrow to ask more questions."

"Ok," I agreed as he headed out of the room

"'Night, Winry." He whispered.

"'Night, Al," I whispered back. Al closed the door and I went back to bed. I was really excited about finding Ed, but at the same time I really didn't know if I believed that cat. It seemed too good to be true. Even so, I hoped Ed was alive and well. I closed my eyes and tried to fall back to sleep.

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**Al's POV**

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_'This is so aggravating!'_ I thought gloomily as I walked down the hall_. 'I want answers now!'_ I grumpily looked down at the snoozing cat. He seemed so peaceful. I felt my frustration go down a little. We entered the room and I put Stormy on the bed and went to sit in the corner.

_'If Ed's back, then why didn't he come to find me yet?_' I thought, sitting down. _'Unless Stormy's lying- NO! I can't think of that. Where could Ed be? And how would he be still alive? We saw his body so he can't still be in his body… Of course! If he came back then he wouldn't be in his body! I need to find someone who looks like Ed with gold eyes. Hm..._' My eyes shifted down to Stormy who was sleeping. I shook my head.

_'That's stupid!'_ I thought_, 'Sure, he has gold eyes but he's a cat! It's not like he hates milk or being called small!' _Memories of that morning came back to me. Stormy hissing at the bowl of milk and pouncing on my foot when I called him small. _'But he's not stubborn like Ed!' _Then I remembered sitting at the gravestone, Stormy's shivering but refusing to go back_. 'He also tried to do alchemy by clapping his hands- erm... Paws!'_ I shook my head again. _'This can't be true! I need to stop jumping to conclusions, but still, he seems so much like Ed. Argh, I can't take this anymore!_' I might be dead wrong. I might be way too hopeful by jumping on every hope that my brother is alive. I'm probably going crazy to assume that a cat is Ed. Even so, I'm going to take my chances. I walked over to Stormy and shook him awake. Stormy make a grumbling sound and turned over.

"Come on, wake up." I shook him harder. It took me a few minutes to get him up, like it took me to wake brother up. Stormy sat up and blinked up at me, insulted that I woke him up.

"Okay Stormy," I said. "It's answer time."

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**Please review**


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